Social impact stays massive for D2C brands in 2023 🙌

Happy New Year merchants! Good news - social impact and sustainability will continue being huge for D2C brands in 2023. Consumers are increasingly giving preference to brands that align with causes they care about and that effectively share that message. 82% of shoppers want to shop with brands that align with their values and are happy to spend more in the process. We are amped about this! It's energising to see so many consumers voting with their wallet and choosing brands that are making this world a cleaner, healthier and a more just place. We put together a bunch of ideas for how stores on Shopify can make an impact from sales, engage shoppers and share their message by aligning with good Causes - be it from a single product, on occasion or always on.

Giving from a product / product line

Image: Jericho Coffee Traders, 'Slava Ukraini' coffee

Virtue Collection based giving - consider this option if your margins are higher on some products over others, if you would like to share a stronger social/eco message already embedded in a product line or give shoppers a great reason to purchase specific stock. Merchants can also align different causes to collections in their store.

Offer for Customers to Add a Donation to orders

Image: dryrobe

Virtue Customer Giving - whether your store is already doing a tone of good for a cause and you are wanting to let customers be a part of it by adding a donation, or this is your core fundraising method - you can't go wrong with customer donations! Choose from Cart Donations (up to 11% engagement rate) or Post-checkout without changing your current checkout experience. Did you know 70% of Millennial shoppers are excited to have the option to donate at checkout?

Upsell with impact

Image: The Gentlemen's Journal

Upsell with giving - use this as a stand alone incentive or pair it with discounts. A great way to incentivise sales with impact and engage the customer around your giving goals. Set up different giving tiers based on customers' spending amounts. This feature can be used together with fixed store giving and customer giving.

Stand out during Key Events

From Earth Day, Pride Month, International Women's Day, Mothers Day, Black Friday to Valentines - aligning with causes during key occasions has proven to be a strong strategy that generates both commercial and impact value. Unite with shoppers around key events, stand out and make even more impact during highly promoted retail and awareness events.

Find out which causes your customers care about

If your brand stands for a number of causes, it's useful to know which causes and values to build your campaign around. When you select multiple causes, stores can see which causes were most frequently selected by shoppers and build their future campaigns around these.

Give a %ge or a fixed amount from sales

Image: Kitchen Provisions

This is the most popular giving strategy (and we love that!). Give from every product fulfilment or a collection, choose to give from orders or each product sold. Make a difference for the same cause/s that closely align with your brand or switch causes when you wish. Always on giving is a great way to make a difference and ensure giving back is embedded in your store's identity

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From supply chain to giving back - there are so many opportunities for brands to leave our planet and humans in it stronger and healthier.

If giving back is your thing - check out Virtue Shopify App. Launch an Impact Campaign in minutes, choose from 1000s of UK Causes, share your message and engage shoppers.

Virtue Team